The invention relates generally to resealable cartridges, and more particularly, to a system for opening and closing a resealable cartridge.
Resealable cartridges have been employed in various applications for transporting articles. Such resealable cartridges are desirable features, including preventing exposure of the transported articles to environmental elements. For example, laser imaging machines use resealable cartridges to transport photosensitive media, such as x-ray and other types of medical imaging photographic film, since it is sometimes necessary to load a laser imaging machine with a different type or size of photosensitive media. Such laser imaging machines are well known in the art for forming an image by scanning a modulated laser beam across the photosensitive media. Prior to the formation of the image, a cartridge containing one or more photosensitive media is loaded into the laser imaging machine. The cartridge includes a tray having a supply area for containing the photosensitive media, a media access opening, and a flexible cover adhesively attached to tray to extend over the media access opening to form a light-tight seal of the cartridge. The light-tight seal enables the cartridge to be transported in light conditions that would otherwise cause exposure of the photosensitive media within the cartridge. U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,724 (Lemberger), U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,400 (Lemberger), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,134 (Weber) show examples of a resealable cartridge, each of these being incorporated herein by reference.
The interior of a laser imaging machine provides a light-tight environment. To carry out an imaging operation, the laser imaging machine withdraws one or more photosensitive media from the access opening of the cartridge. Therefore, the laser imaging machine requires a system that can open the cartridge within the laser imaging machine to allow withdrawal of the photosensitive media from the access opening, and close/reseal the cartridge within the laser imaging machine to effect the light-light seal. In the ordinary course of use, the cartridge must be opened and closed several times.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,724 (Lemberger) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,134 (Weber) show examples of mechanisms for opening and closing a resealable media cartridge. While such systems may have achieved certain degrees of success in their particular applications, they employ a relatively complicated mechanism that can be expensive to manufacture and have other disadvantages.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system which is capable of reliably performing the opening/closing functions, commercially viable, reduced in size, provides good resealing, and efficiently manufacturable.
The present invention provides a system for opening and closing a resealable cartridge which is capable of reliably performing the opening/closing functions, commercially viable, reduced in size, provides good resealing, and efficiently manufacturable.
In addition, wrinkles in the cartridge cover can occur while closing, and such wrinkles can decrease the usable life of the cartridge. In addition to wrinkles, laser imaging machines which use high sealing forces tend to displace the cover adhesive. The present invention increases the usable life of the cartridge by reducing/eliminating both wrinkles and displaced cover adhesive.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the system particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof, as well as in the appended drawings.
An object of the present invention is to provide a system for opening and closing a resealable cartridge.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system which is capable of reliably performing the opening/closing functions.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a system which is commercially viable, reduced in size, provides good resealing, and efficiently manufacturable.
These objects are given only by way of illustrative example, and such objects may be exemplary of one or more embodiments of the invention. Other desirable objectives and advantages inherently achieved by the disclosed invention may occur or become apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention is defined by the appended claims.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for opening and closing a resealable cartridge having a tray and a flexible cover resealably engaged with the tray. The system comprises: a base for receiving the tray of the cartridge; a roller shaft having means for engaging the cover of the cartridge; positioning means operably connected to the roller shaft to affect positioning of the roller shaft relative to the cartridge between a first position wherein the roller shaft is spaced from the cartridge and a second position different from the first position wherein the roller shaft is not spaced from the cartridge; and a motor for rotating the roller shaft in a first rotational direction to wind the cover about the roller shaft, thereby removing at least a portion of the cover from the tray, and for rotating the roller shaft in a second rotational direction to unwind the cover from the roller shaft thereby resealably engaging the cover with the tray.